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As I’ve related before, because I do love to repeat myself, I moved to the country five years ago, and through no fault of my own, acquired four dogs. Back in the city, I never walked for pleasure. I was always going somewhere. But it seems in the country it's quite normal to wander around in circles going nowhere at all.
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At this point I must confess that my Wednesday walk is exactly the same as my Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday walks. There’s one road. You either go left or right and either way, you end up right back where you started.
For the purposes of clarity, I have made this sketch.
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Sometimes words are not enough.
To you city folk who imagine the countryside is brimming with quaint byways and scenic little tracks to explore… you’ve been sold a pup!
Of course I could take one of the roads leading to the motorway, but that would mean doubling back and I have this policy of always moving forward.
I live in a valley. And as the saying goes: what goes down must come up …or something like that. So whether I go left or right, there’s always a hill to climb. Perhaps you can see from my photos how steep they are, but I doubt it.
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When I moved here, I bought a bike. I used to cycle everywhere in the city using the Dublin Bike Rental Scheme, and figured I’d keep it up in the country. But Dublin is fairly flat, while the hills around these parts belong in the Tour De France, and climbing them on the bike was almost killing me. It was months before my brother showed me that I’d been cycling with the brake on, and by then I’d abandoned the bike, believing that the country air had done for me.
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You could walk this road every day for a fortnight and never encounter another living soul. But this morning, I came upon two workmen.
I knew they were workmen by their yellow hi-vis jackets.
“You’ve lovely dogs,” said one, as I passed, greeting him with a smile.
“Why is it always the dogs who get the compliments?” I replied, striking a mildly indignant, quizzical pose.
“You’ve got lovely dogs,” he said again, with a grin, “and they’re accompanied by a beautiful lady,” he added, chuckling.
“Ah, a gentleman,” said I, to which he made a bowing gesture as we both laughed and I continued on my way, thrilled to have such an exciting encounter to relate in my first Wednesday Walk post.
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Never mind lovely dogs, you must have amazing thighs 😍
Hahaha, I have...but I can't show them here!
Right outside your front door! Lucky humans and dogs. You have four? I don't remember that.
hahahaha. Somehow, knowing what I know about you, and despite your claim that you never ever lie, I am having trouble believing this. You are far too smart of a cookie. Months?
I look forward to many more. So entertaining, in short bites, only a few well-chosen photos.
Yes, four dogs, none of which I wanted, but I was suckered into it. Long, long story that I'll tell you when we eventually meet in person:)
As for the brake, not a word of a lie. I thought somewhere between leaving Dublin and arriving in the country, I'd aged 10 years.
haha, that country air will do that to you, make you doubt just how hale and hearty you really are.
Two dogs is good. Four dogs is a lot. Now that you have homeopathy in your toolkit, you will be going to the veterinarian far less often. I just don't go for any of my animals and they are all healthy, even the aging cat.
The only time I took any of them to the vet was to have two neutered, after one had 9 pups and the other had 5, leaving us with 18 dogs. Otherwise we just deflea them and they seem perfectly healthy.
I was reading about homeopathy for pets but I can't imagine how I'd get the dog to let the pills dissolve under her tongue.
It doesn't matter that they go under their tongues. Mine loves them and licks them out of my hand. For animals that won't do that, I put it in their food.
You had 18 dogs at one time!
Ah, Ok. I'll keep that in mind.
Yes, 18 dogs and I have the videos to prove it! Their father was a red setter, they were gorgeous and were rehomed instantly by the Dog's Trust.
I love those sweet banters with random people. It reminds me I am a human having a human experience and at the same time so are they and we met in the middle somehow.
You cycling with the brake on .. now there's a dickhead story if ever I heard one.
I hate hills. The end.
If it wasn't for random strangers, I'd have no social life at all!
Yes, I'm an idiot. I know nothing about bikes. The rental ones I used in Dublin were kept in tip-top condition, so you didn't need to be versed in bike mechanics just to ride one.
I don't know how you come up with these lines, but thank you😂
Ah yeah it's part of reason I like surfing... Car park conversations. I don't need more than that. My Mum was the same - is. No real fUnderlineriends but would talk the ear off someone at the shops. We are both somewhat loners. I like it but it means I worry for her without Dad around. Randoms at the supermarket don't look after you when times are rough.
That's true, but sometimes even a cheerful exchange with a stranger can make things appear a little less rough. Anway, I shall continue to bring sweetness and light whenever I go:)
Sure do. And even strangers can jump to your aid when you need it. People can be so excellent.
Ahh, that is a pretty place for walks. I can walk every day there and find something new, you have lots of wild edibles there :)
I was just about to say lovely dogs, haha! x
And your map is awesome!
Yes, it's pretty good, isn't it! It took me ages to draw but I think it was worth it. It certainly gives a much better idea of the terrain than I could manage with words alone:)
Now, with Lily, we do most on foot. She's not very confident on the bike yet. We don't do many walks for pleasure though, as our cat is not a fan of walks. He rather chills in the garden. We could just throw a leash on one of the street dogs, and pretend, but then Lily would want to take it in.
With great difficulty!
The brake pad was stuck against the wheel and I thought it was just my body giving up on me. But you must admit it shows great strength of character🤣
As for Lily and her lack of confidence, I recommend a Triplet. You in front, the cat in the middle and Lily at the rear.
That's a great idea! I'll see if I can have a tricycle built that suits us.
I once went up to Cuicocha lake. It's an 800m climb over 10km. My friends were in better shape than I, it was during the pandemic and they had been cycling a lot, and I was a little busy saving the world. But the difference in speed and lightfoodedness was just a little too much. Almost up, like 1km away from the highest point, I noticed that I had almost lost all the air in the rear wheel. After fixing that, suddenly everything was so much easier... But I was already super tired. But the 10min high speed down the hill was worth it :-)
Thing is, if the brake is on, the bike won't freewheel down a hill. You have to cycle up and down. It was this that eventually alerted my brother to the brake malfunction.
And for the record, a TRICYCLE is a bike with three wheels.
Ah the wonders you see and the life you live when the dogs need you to walk with them.
I must admit I wouldn't go for a walk for an hour per day if it were not for this guy. I do though as he needs his joy and some of it rubs off on me.
Here's to wandering in circles outdoors!
He looks like a lively little chappie...and you're right! If it wasn't for walkies, I'd probably never venture outside my gate. The good thing about walking in circles is that you never get lost.
Ooh, how gallant! (spoken in my most foppish and high brow accent)...a true gentleman indeed! Somehow that seems more rare these days. A perfect interlude, where one stranger 'gets' the banter of the other is a pleasure when strolling the hood.
I love your walking paths and of course, your drawing is on point as usual :D
If there's one thing I excel at, it's drawing!:)
You're too modest by far! Your virtues are widely known 🙂
Oh I know! It's like this...I know I'm wonderful, I just don't others to know I know...you know what I mean?
Oh yeah, I know! Your secret's safe with me..I won't tell a soul
Oh dear, bicycling with a stuck brake must have been quite a challenge. Even without a stuck brake, I think twice about hills these days. I used to go for walks quite often, but I live on a dirt road and traffic has increased a great deal in recent years, so I don't enjoy walking there any more. It gets SO dusty! And, despite assorted rules and regulations, some people let their dogs run loose, sometimes unsupervised. That makes me nervous.
I must confess to being one of those who doesn't rein their dogs, but we meet few people and even when we do, my dogs pass quietly by.
Actually it's good nowadays walk and never meet a soul, doggies are the best companions for this... Do you have wild fruits trees around?
Only crab apples...they're pretty wild:)
Better than nothing, you could still harvest them
Actually, I used to collect and juice them until I got my own apple trees.
Having grown up in the bog, theer was not many hills near me, well one, but it wasn't really within walking distance, so mostly flat for me. Now however I live amongst the mountains and every walk includes some amount of steepness, keeps me bloody fit though.
Feck off with the bikes though, I tried that, bloody killed my legs and then got a bit pissed off with all the ones on their electric bikes zooming past me. I got legs good for walking so I keep at that xxx
Are you sure you weren't cycling with the brake on?:)
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